Thursday, August 26, 2010

I'm sure this has been a busy week for you and your family. That seems to be the theme across the nation right now as everyone is getting back to school.

This week is blowing right past me... I can't believe it is already Thursday! Yesterday we enjoyed the most wonderful weather in the DFW area; a bit of rain, an overcast sky, and temperatures that stayed in the 70's! Last night after dinner we took Axel for a walk and it was so nice to not feel the humidity and oven-like temperatures we've had for over a month. Today it will be hot again, but I'm still reveling in yesterday.

Last night after tucking the Little Guy into bed I managed to finish up the loose ends on a cardigan I crocheted. This is the first garment I've constructed, and I can't wait to share it with you. Stay tuned for pictures. Now I'm back to working on a necklace for my etsy shop. Have I mentioned that I love to crochet?

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Little Guy made it just fine through his first day of 7th grade. Of course, he was a little less than forthcoming with how his day went. Just as I expected.

His first response was how boring his day was, how much talking went the teachers did and he had to just sit there and listen. Sounds like what I'm sure most of the school days will be like, but I didn't stress that fact. He perked up as the evening went on. He made a tactical bracelet with Hubby's help after dinner, which he was sporting today as he left for school, and was quite proud of himself. All in all, it was a good day. I guess I can't expect much more from a kid who can't stand school except to serve as a means to socialize and play sports.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Leaving the house today brought a smile to my face. I had been listening to some tunes through Pandora Radio while I got ready for work that reminded me of my days in high school... music from The Cure, Depeche Mode, Talk Talk. Then when I left home I was reminded that there is a whole new generation of high schoolers starting today, listening to their own brand of tunes on the iPods and MP3 players, as I passed by them while they waited at their bus stops.

My son is about to head out the door to his first day of 7th grade. He's excited and nervous at the same time. He's worried about getting lost in his new school, about not finding his class rooms in time before the bell rings, not working the combination locker fast enough between classes.... all of those things I remember being scared about.

Now I'm sitting at work, listening to more of Pandora through my computer, wishing I were home with The Little Guy, able to walk him to his first class. But, even if I weren't at work he wouldn't let me do that now. He's too big; too grown up. He's walking to school with his buddies from the neighborhood.

I can't wait to squeeze hug him this afternoon, to hear all about his day. I hope he says more than just, "It was good" when I ask him how his day was. If that happens then I will follow up with a game of 20 Questions.

Monday, August 16, 2010

This Sunday I picked up a new little toy for my collection. I may have mentioned awhile back that I started collecting vinyl toys, and have a few Toki Doki toys already. Now I also have Pixie, a little Momiji doll, that I found at our local comic book store.

I can't wait to add more of these little cuties to my collection! There are so many to choose from and for all kinds of occasions. My little cupcake Pixie is made from wood and has little cherries painted on her apron and in her hair. I adore cherries!

There was one named Soul, but I can't find a picture of her online yet. Evidently the doll maker reuses some of the names, so when I searched for Soul a different little doll popped up. The Soul that I looked at has a jumper on with the same colors of my blog... turquoise and red! And so does this little cutie to the left... a best friends message doll. I would LOVE to receive that from a friend. (Not that any of my friends really know about my toy addiction... I need to work on that!) I've found that having these little things around make me feel more creative and are helping to keep me feelin' young! And they just make me smile when I look at them. I've even started collecting vinyl stickers and have them on the inside of my craft cabinet and on my portable Janome sewing machine.

I just can't stop looking at these little gals! Did you see the little birdies on the dress of to the left? I just love little birdies like that. (Speaking of birds, I just saw a hummingbird coming to my backyard feeder this weekend! I was so excited!!! I had hoped that they were stopping by when I wasn't looking, but knowing for sure made me so happy!!!)

I dressed up her package with a wee bit of embroidery instead of a card. She's getting a good scrapbooking pile together so I thought she might like to use the added gift decor as a scrapbooking page embellishment.

And here we are... Shorty, Whoostine (my new super sweet & funny Brother-in-Law) and my little Sissy. I'm glad to have him as part of our super dorky family! And in just a couple of weeks I'll be sneaking off with the two of them to visit our mom in New Mexico. I can't wait!!!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Have you ever owned or operated a serger? I have never owned one, and I've never even played with one before. That hasn't stopped me from fantasizing about acquiring one, though.

I have seen so many amazing projects that other sewers have made using sergers... shirts, pants, working with knits, even undies and quilts! It seems like the options are just endless.

Well, if you are like me and would love to try your hands at one of these mysteriously capable machines then you'll want to enter a great giveaway at Sew Mama Sew. (Don't feel obligated to dash over there and sign up because you are ultimately reducing my chances of being the big winner.)

So, back to my fantasy... if I won this machine I think I would immediately make a knit shirt or pants. I always see knits that have completely surged hemlines. When I've tried to work with knits on my machine I can never seem to get the tension just right, so I end up misshaping the fabric or creating a bulge. Another project I recently talked with Hubby about was making something for his company, and I specifically told him how easy it would be to manufacture what he was asking for if only we had a serger. (I can't divulge the idea at this time, but if I win that machine I'll show you exactly what I'm talking about.)

Are you going to join me in trying to win a Husqvarna Viking Serger? Be sure and follow the instructions carefully for entering your name in the hat. Good luck! (sort of...)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I want to send a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who commented on my last post. I really appreciate the input about my crocheted necklace. I was quite leery of what might be said, because I'm still not super secure about the things that I make, so I was sweetly surprised and grateful for the remarks that you guys posted. (A few of you mentioned you might like to make one of those your own, so please stay tuned... I plan on putting some in my etsy shop as soon as I can get them made! And thank you guys for making my week! And a special thanks to Lyndsay and her husband for the photography tips... please tell your hubby I will give those suggestions a try!)

So much is going on right now that I kind of feel like I'm swimming in space. (At least, I'm guessing that swimming in space would feel like this... if I moved my arms like in the picture, it would catapult me forward through space until I did an oppostie motion to stop myself, then make another move in another direction and have the same thing happen all over again...) I get started on one thing and am moving forward, then something else jumps out and causes me to come to a screeching halt so I can address something different. Oh well, such is life, right? I guess so. But, since I've been working diligently at trying to simplify my life these sudden changes of direction are really getting on my nerves. I think I need a shirt that says in a bold, clear font, "Work with me, not against me" or perhaps I could just come up with something vulgar that would cause people to just steer clear. Like a simple hand signal? Just kidding... that would just create way more negative energy than I care to deal with right now.

On a lighter and more positive note, my little sister is celebrating her 26th birthday this Saturday and I can't wait to see her. I am meeting up with her, her new husband and some friends of theirs for a wonderful meal in Dallas. Friday night Hubby & I are having some dear friends over for dinner, and I am certainly looking forward to that, too. It should be a laid back and fun weekend. Yeah! And, of course I will make lots of time for crocheting! I have a little cardigan that I need to finish so that I can move on to necklaces!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Please take a looksie at this crocheted necklace and kindly leave your opinions of it in the comments section. I'm curious what you think.

Does it look a bit 'Anthro' to you? As in it could be from Anthropologie? Or does it just scream vintage surplus in a really bad way? Honesty is appreciated, folks. So go ahead and lay it on me.

My pictures aren't the greatest. I should've gotten out Hubby's lightbox to really create some contrast with the color. (I tried to adjust things a bit manually, which is why one picture looks purple.) Next time around I'll use the professional equipment. But this time I didn't... My apologies!

Thanks for taking a moment to look, inspect, ponder and contribute. I really appreciate it! And I hope you're having an amazing Sunday!